The EFL Media Team’s Will Taylor reviews the week that was across all Deakin University football competitions, and previews the round’s matches in the senior competition.
What a big weekend of action in the Deakin University Eastern Region Girls and Women’s competitions over the past weekend!
In Under-12 South, Rowville lead from start to finish defeating Blackburn by 20 points and remains undefeated through five games with Ava Roberts, Evelyn Curtis and Dakota Nye scoring the goals for the visitors.
Madelyn Cameron, Georgie Marsden and Torey Burns kicked two goals each as Bayswater moved into the top four with a solid 46-point win over Knox at Knox Gardens Reserve.
Ferntree Gully moved within one game from top spot with a 34-point win over Glen Waverley Rovers at Picketts Reserve. Sarah McNulty proved to be the difference in front of goals as Vermont Gold scored its first win over Rowville Knights as the Knights dropped out of the top four with Eagles winning by nine points.
Under-12 North | Montrose remains undefeated with an 18-point win over Donvale at Donvale Reserve. Millie Barker kicked five goals as she beat East Ringwood by herself by 63 points to keep the Falcons in third spot.
Mitcham had to come from two goals down at half time to beat Mooroolbark by eight points. Kilsyth caused the boil-over of the round with a strong 26-point win over Vermont Purple.
Under-14 Division 1 | Blackburn powered its way to a convincing 83-point win over Norwood to remain on top on the ladder. Sarah Kaye kicked two goals for Ferntree Gully as her side defeated Vermont by 16 points in the battle of the Eagles.
Knox’s inaccurate kicking cost the Falcons a win over Montrose by one point at Wantirna’s Schultz Reserve in the Falcons’ first lost of the season. Yarra Glen’s Tara Carson and Estelle Peterson combined to kick nine goals as they beat the Forest Hill by almost 100 points.
Casey McConchie and Sky Wilson kicked two goals each for Mt Evelyn as they defeated Emerald by 61 points at Worrell Reserve.
Under-14 Division 2 | Mia Van Oosterwijck and Maggie Browne kicked two goals each as Donvale won by five goals over Mooroolbark.
Tahlia Dannefaerd and Emma Mclean for Upper Gully kicked five goals combined as they left Bayswater scoreless to win by 44 points.
Upwey Tecoma had to come from behind to win by sixteen points with a big three goals to zero second half.
Under-16 Premier Division | The unstoppable Blackburn continued its run, beating Norwood by 114 points. Last year’s defeating premiers Ferntree Gully continued its winning streak with a big 141-point win over Worawa with Jessica Dunning kicking four and Tegan Stephenson with three goals for the Eagles.
Knox moved into second spot with a strong 36-point win over Mt Evelyn. Marina Taverna kicked five goals for Donvale as the Vales won by 39 points over last year’s grand finalists, Mitcham.
Under-16 Division 1 | Rachael Slater kicked three goals for Rowville Knights but it wasn’t enough to beat Wandin as the Bulldogs won by one point. North Ringwood won by 93 points over the Waverley Blues to remain undefeated at the top of the table.
Gembrook Cockatoo kicked four goals to zero in the final quarter to beat Montrose to remain one game behind the two undefeated teams.
Danielle Jenkins`and Catherine Chamberlain kicked five goals between them as Vermont kicked inaccurately to beat East Ringwood by 32 points.
Under-16 Division 2 | Heathmont’s inaccurate kicking didn’t cost the Jets the win over Coldstream as they won by 33 points.
Taylor Hammersley kicked three goals for Kilsyth, as the Cougars’ accurate kicking wasn’t enough to dethrone the Kings at Kings Park.
Under-18s | Croydon kicking five goals to one from quarter time proved to be the difference in their match-up with Chirnside Park.
Ashleigh Lyall’s three goals for Donvale pipped Vermont’s two goals as the Vales won at home.
Caitlin Vippond kicked the only goal in the game as Knox defeated defending premiers Mt Evelyn.
With Nerissa Narburup booting four, along with Ayla Williams and Emily Harley, the trio kicked kicked eight goals between them as Blackburn-Norwood defeated Ferntree Gully by 91 points at Picketts Reserve to remain undefeated.
The Deakin University Eastern Region Women’s Competition continued last weekend as Chirnside Park scored an eight goal win over Norwood with Whitney Boyle kicking four goals for the winners and Holly Fenton scoring two goals for Norwood.
Chirnside Park pulled away in the second quarter with an eight goals to three in the next three quarters.
Bayswater’s Leesa McShane (seven goals), Marissa Lee (five goals) and Brenda Lay (four goals) combined for 16 majors between them with a 126-point win over Upper Ferntree Gully at Kings Park on Saturday.
Mt Evelyn led from start to finish to run away with an eight point win over Knox with Melanie Hogg been named the best player on the field for the winners. Jayne Blakemore’s four goals in a best on ground performance guided her Heathmont team to a convincing five goal win over Yarra Junction on Mother’s Day.
PREVIEW | Deakin University Eastern Region Women’s Competition – Round 6
Waverley Blues v Yarra Junction The place to be for your early Saturday morning fix is at Pinewood Reserve in Mount Waverley as fifth-placed Waverley Blues take on sixth-placed Yarra Junction in a must win game for both teams as they both try to stay in touch with the top four teams.
Waverley Blues are coming off the week break and Yarra Junction is coming off a heavy loss to Heathmont last weekend. These two teams will be ready to fire to begin Round 6 of the competition.
Prediction: Waverley Blues to just get home by one to two goals over Yarra Junction.
Knox v Bayswater Depending on how the previous game plays out, this game could be an interesting contest as Knox plays host to Bayswater at Knox Gardens Reserve. Bayswater came off a convincing win over bottom side Upper Gully while Knox just fell short against one of the best teams in the competition in Mt Evelyn last weekend. Knox will be ready to bounce back while the Waters will try and jump past the Falcons into third spot on the ladder.
Prediction: Knox to win at home and will remain in top three after this weekend’s game.
Upper Ferntree Gully v Heathmont Kings Park will be the venue for the Upper Ferntree Gully v Heathmont game this weekend. The Kings will be ready to win their first game of the season and bouncing back after their big loss to Bayswater last weekend.
Heathmont will be making sure that it can make it two from two from the past couple of weeks. What will unfold in this game be unknown but one thing is for sure, these two teams will be desperate for a win.
Prediction: Heathmont will end up coming up on top over Upper Gully by two goals.
Mount Evelyn v Norwood Mount Evelyn will be a tough test for Norwood as the visitors travel to Mount Evelyn Reserve this weekend. Both teams are at the opposite ends of the ladder and should make it an interesting contest.
Prediction: Melanie Hogg will be the player to watch out for and she will be making sure that Mount Evelyn will come out on top at the end of the game.
Views expressed in the article remain those of the author and not of the League or its affiliated clubs.